Synthetic fuels, just like hydrogen fuel cells, are not an energy source but an energy storage and transportation medium.
Liquid fuels are very useful because of their energy density (per volume or per weight), their stability, and their portability. I don't think they're going away. But they may become expensive and suitable only for niche uses such as off-road vehicles or where autonomy is paramount over fuel efficiency. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
Wikipedia: Dimethyl ether
Conventional DME production uses the methanol dehydration method.[1] For mass production of DME as a fuel other methods are being considered, the main one being DME synthesis from hydrogen and CO gas, also known as syngas.[2] DME can be produced from methanol by combining two methanol molecules to produce a DME molecule and a water molecule.[3] This is a reversible reaction.[3] This can be shown in the following equation: methanol → dimethyl ether + water 2CH3OH → CH3OCH3 + H2O There are various companies developing this method of DME production, the most active one being JFE Holding in Japan.[citation needed] The DME-synthesis method has a better overall efficiency because with methanol dehydration,[citation needed] the methanol is firstly produced from a base source such as LPG, NG or coal via synthesis and then this is converted into DME.[citation needed] This method attempts to cut out the intermediate methanol production and produce DME from LPG, NG, coal or even biomass in one process.[citation needed]
DME can be produced from methanol by combining two methanol molecules to produce a DME molecule and a water molecule.[3] This is a reversible reaction.[3] This can be shown in the following equation:
There are various companies developing this method of DME production, the most active one being JFE Holding in Japan.[citation needed] The DME-synthesis method has a better overall efficiency because with methanol dehydration,[citation needed] the methanol is firstly produced from a base source such as LPG, NG or coal via synthesis and then this is converted into DME.[citation needed] This method attempts to cut out the intermediate methanol production and produce DME from LPG, NG, coal or even biomass in one process.[citation needed]
On a HHV basis per kg carbon:
DME is indeed a decent contender as an energy carrier, not as good as methane but on par with LPG. The real upsides are:
Auto-format doesn't like my tables. Facts, selfish little bastards. They don't even care about your feelings.
The increasing cost of both aviation gasoline and jet fuel will be a worry for the Eastern Caribbean states ... I was always intrigued by the possibilities for Ground Effect aircraft to provide more fuel efficient inter-island connections. But in any event, that is a transport task where autonomy is fairly crucial. Utsukushikereba sore de ii
CO2 is an end-product of combustion while coal is not, so it obviously takes more energy to make fuel from CO2 than from coal.
That Ground Effect aircrat is just cool. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
And there is also the question of what is the most effective co-generation with the exhaust gas, after catalytic conversion of pollutants. If that is a useful input into a synthetic hydrocarbon process, that might be very appealing, since the bio-coal itself is such an appealing complement to sustainable "use them or lose them" renewable sources of electricity. Utsukushikereba sore de ii
And that was just from pictures and articles in the press. When I went looking for an article on the concept and stumbled on that PR clip, I knew I had my link.
Of course, in terms of the Midnight Thought on the Arc of the Sun (8 April 08), the main relevance in Africa is for express transport along major rivers and lakes, focusing the express travel on the same route that the much slower barges take and actually connecting the cities and central river ports of the countryside together, rather than having the cities connected by airports and the countryside simply as fly-over country. Utsukushikereba sore de ii
